Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

1. Do you ever return the books?

In general, we do not return the books. This is because the spine of the book is removed prior to scanning and the pages are recycled after the scanning process. If you include a SAE then we can return the lose pages.

A book will in the vast majority of cases have an ISBN Number. The most common examples are novels, cookbooks, self-improvement books, textbooks, comics, etc.

Pages that are held together either in a binder or with staples or glue are documents.

If in doubt contact our customer support at support@digitisemybooks.co.uk

4. I have a book that contains black and white, grayscale and colour texts and images. Which one do I order?

Many books will contain two if not all three of these. If so view it as a hierarchy, with black and white at the bottom and colour at the top. If your book contains black and white and colour, select colour. If black and white and grayscale, select grayscale. There is more information on our black and white, grayscale, colour or page yellowing page.

5. Will the PDF file you send us contain every page of my book?

Every page that has writing on it. This includes the front and back covers. Books often have blank pages in them. In a digital form blank pages are unnecessary and our default position is to remove them. If you would like us to include the blank pages, just send us an email or include it under ‘Order Notes’ at the Checkout.

6. Do you scan hardbacks?

Yes we scan both the front and the back covers as long as they are within the page dimensions.

7. Are there any restrictions in terms of the size of the book?

The width of the book has to be 8.5″ (21.5cm) or under. There are no restrictions on height. Most books in print today are within those dimensions. We may still be able to scan books over these dimensions if there are generous margins.

8. How can I open my file?

You need a PDF reader. If you haven’t already got one you can download one free here – Adobe Reader.

9. The text in my book goes right up to the margins, does this matter?

For destructive scanning, on the spine side, yes it does. The spine of the book is removed in order to scan the books and therefore some of the margin is removed. Ideally you want to have at least 0.5cm free. All modern books have at least this space. It’s with comics and some very old books that you will need to check. If in any doubt, contact us.

We also support languages that do not use the Latin alphabet such as Arabic, Russian, Thai and Chinese.

Visit ourSupported Languagepage for further information. If your language of choice is not on that list, send us an email and we will endeavour to find a way of meeting your needs.

11. Can you translate from another language to English.

No.

12. How do I place my order?

Simply visit theDigital Scanning Shop. Once inside you can add the package(s) to the Shopping Cart. When you’ve finished adding the packages, click on ‘Checkout’ to complete the order.

13. How do I pay?

Our checkout uses Paypal. Paypal enables you to order with Visa and Mastercard and a variety of other forms of payment. You do not need a Paypal account yourself to complete the order.

14. Will I be charged any extra for using Paypal?

No.

15. If I order 1 set, which is 350 sides, can I send you as many books as I can until they equal 350 sides?

No. The sets aren’t accumulative. 1 set lets you scan any book up to 350 sides. If you have two books, both under 350 sides, then 2 sets are needed. Please see our calculating prices page for more information.

16. I have concerns about sending my books and documents in the post.

If your book is well packaged and you have had it weighed to ensure the postage is correct, then there should be no concern at all. We also recommend that you write your own address on the back of the package. For your peace of mind we send you an email as soon as we get your package. For added peace of mind we recommend that you send your package by Recorded Delivery or by using a Courier Service. Once we’ve signed for it, we take full responsibility.

Bronze Package Questions

1. What do I get in the Bronze Package?

The Bronze Package provides you with a searchable PDF of your book. The PDF you receive back will be an exact representation of the original book. All the fonts, formatting and colours will be preserved.

In addition to this we run OCR on all our PDFs to give you the ability to search for key words or phrases and find them instantly. You may have read something and want to find it quickly without having to go through every single phrase. The word could be a person, place or even a memorable date. Just press ‘Ctrl F’ inside your PDF, type in what you want to find, press enter and you’ll jump right there.

2. What is OCR?

It stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is the conversion of scanned images to readable and editable text-based documents.

3. Can you guarantee that every single word will be 100% accurate and the formatting, fonts and colour will be kept exactly the same?

With the PDF all of the fonts, formatting and colours of the original book will be kept completely intact. The text and images will be a mirror image of the original book. Indeed in many cases, especially for black and white books, we will be able to improve the appearance of the book by turning slightly faded backgrounds into a plain white one.

With regard to the text recognition, OCR technology at present is 99+% accurate. So we cannot guarantee you 100% accuracy – but close to it. Text obscurity can also happen if a page is creased. Just go by the simple rule – if you can’t read the text, then a scanner won’t be able to.

4. Can I edit the PDF?

It largely depends on what pdf viewer you are using. Free ones impose limitations and editing options are minimal. Professional readers have a much greater scope. We don’t restrict access to the PDFs in any way and as long as you have professional software you can edit your files.

Silver Package Questions

1. What is the main advantage of upgrading to the Silver Package?

Not everybody has a professional PDF reader and so editing options are limited. Even with professional software changes to a PDF can be complex and only possible within certain parameters.

With the Silver Package, in addition to the PDF, you receive a fully editable Word Document of your book, giving you complete control of your editing options. If your book is mainly text based then the conversions from PDF to Word are incredible and the formatting and colours are kept largely intact. We do recommend that you proof read your documents if you are using them for academic or business purposes as OCR technology is 99+% accurate.

2. Are all books suitable to be converted to Word?

No. The Silver Package is mainly for books with continuous bodies of writing. Some books, for example comic books, just aren’t suitable for the silver package, as they’re mainly composed of images and graphics that Microsoft Word just isn’t designed for. Overlapping text, unfamiliar fonts and diagonal writings, for example, can all result in incorrect formatting. Books with complex graphs and diagrams may also prove problematic. Contact us if you’re in any doubt.

Gold Package Questions

1. What is the main advantage of upgrading to the Gold Package?

The ability to have your books and documents read to you. You will receive an audio file for each document or book you send us. You can listen to your files on the move, whilst going for a run, or catching a train. Maybe you prefer to listen to stories rather than read them. If you’re in business you can include it as part of a presentation. If you’re in education this option helps if you have pupils with learning difficulties or visual impairments. Modern Foreign Language teachers use this option so that their students can hear their essays read back to them. They make brilliant revision tools as well.

2. Does this Package support other languages?

Yes it does and the accents are fully authentic. Visit ourOCR to Voice – Supported Languagespage. The documents have to be in the original languages. We cannot translate from English to another language.

3. Can you translate from English to another language or vice-versa?

No.

4. Do spelling and grammar matter?

Yes it does. To take an extreme example; if your document hasn’t any punctuation at all, then the audio file you receieve back will be a voice speaking continuously, without pausing once. If you want our voices to pause, then you have to punctuate accordingly. Similarly with spelling, if a word is spelt incorrectly there’s a chance the word will be distorted.

5. Can I edit the Word Document before you convert it to an audio file?

Yes. In fact we recommend this. The audio software will read out everything, from the numbers in the content pages, Roman or otherwise, to footnotes and captions under photographs. Most customers don’t want this and want it taken out before the conversion.

6. Is there a time limit to edit the file before sending it back to you?

No. Your record remains open indefinitely until the conversion is complete.

Digital File Conversion Questions

1. If the file size is too large to send via email, how do I send my files to you?

We recommend using a cloud service such as dropbox or googledrive. Both of these providers give you enough free space to be able to send PDFs and other electronic formats. WeTransfer allows you to transfer files of up to 2GB for free as well.

2. How will you identify the files?

During checkout one of the required fields is to write the title of the Book. Simply write the name of your files in here.

3. Is the estimated completion time the same as for books?

No. It’s usually much shorter. Please see the estimated completion time on our homepage, or the footer of every page for an up to date estimated completion time.

After Checkout Questions

1. After I’ve paid what happens next?

Simply send your books and documents to

DigitiseMyBooks, 114 Gleneagle Road, London, SW16 6BA

Or your electronic files to

support@digitisemybooks.co.uk

We highly recommend you add our email address to your safe list as occasionally email providers recognise them as spam and send them to your junk mail, or fail to deliver them completely. We never send any spam or promotional emails. After we have received your books and documents we send you a ‘Books/Documents Arrived’ email. When your documents are ready we send you an email with your files attached. On the occasions when the file size is too large for this, we utilise a number of file sharing storage clouds including Google Drive, Dropbox and ADrive.

2. Why haven’t I received my ‘Books Arrived’ email?

The most likely reason is its gone to your Spam folder. Please check in there and mark it as safe so all future emails go to your inbox. We never send unsollicited emails. Alternatively, we may have been unable to identify the package. To match up your parcel with your order we require one of the following, (1) the name and the order number included in the package or written on the parcel, or (2) under ‘Order Notes’ on checkout, include the name of the book you will be sending, or if sending multiple books, include at least 1 book title.

3. Is the estimated completion time from when I ordered or from when you receive the books?

It’s from when we both (a) receive the books and (b) payment has cleared.

4. What are Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and ADrive?

They are file sharing services. You either install a small program on your computer and from there you can create folders that you can share with other people. Or you can upload your files to a Cloud and send links to people so they can download the files without the need to install a program on their computer. Only people you invite can see what’s within the folders or the cloud. They are very useful ways of storing your own documents between different PCs. For more information click on the respective links above.

5. And if I requested my documents back?

Just make sure you send us a stamped addressed envelope/package with the correct postage on it. We highly recommend that you weigh the books first to ensure the postage is correct. We cannot return books or documents unless a SAE is provided or a courier is sent to pick them up.

6. I don’t want the books or documents back, will you destroy them for me?

Of course. We usually recycle books and documents after two weeks but if you would prefer them shredded straight away just send us an email and we will do that.

7. How long should the whole process take?

It varies depending on our current volume of orders. We have an estimated completion time on both the homepage and the footer of every page that will give you an accurate reflection of the timescale. Your ‘Books Arrived’ email will also have the estimated completion time in it.

8. I’ve been waiting for longer than the estimated completed time period.

The most likely reason for this is that the email has gone to your Spam folder. Adding support@digitisemybooks.co.uk to your Safelist is the best way to ensure all our emails reach you.